Huntsman's Mormon Faith

Michael Sean Winters
|
Jun. 23, 2011
Distinctly Catholic

Dan Gilgoff at CNN has an article up [1]about the religiosity of newly minted presidential aspirant and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Like Mitt Romney, Huntsman is a Mormon, but the two seem to approach their religion quite differently. There is a lot to learn about Huntsman, and examining a candidate's religion has become par for the course, which is not entirely unwelcome. Before we entrust the vast powers of the presidency to any man or woman, we should know a lot about what does and does not motivate them, whence they derive their values, what influences have shaped their worldview. It is imperative, however, that Americans embrace the spirit of the Constitution's ban on religious tests for office. As voters, we tend to embrace a whole range of concerns and considerations when assessing a candidate, but it is bigotry to consider a person's religion against them. A candidate should be able to explain how his or her religion does or does not inform their views, but we are not electing a Theologian-in-Chief.